Plastic containers, and especially plastic bottles, have a neck the dimensions of which are precisely defined and remain unchanged during the manufacturing operations. Most handling machines are provided with clamps configured to hold the containers by the neck. The clamps may vary in shape according to the operation(s) which the containers undergo on the manufacturing line.
Where containers have to be inverted along the path of the manufacturing line, specific clamps are needed in order to hold the containers both ways (up and down). For example, containers are held with the neck down for rinsing operations, whereas they are held with the neck up for filling operations.
An example of such a clamp is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,012 to Lopes (assigned to SIDEL). The clamp comprises a pair of arms constructed to grip the container neck at two opposite places and to allow the neck to be engaged by entering through one side and released from another side.
Such a solution is satisfactory because it allows a safe and quick handling of the containers even when they are twisted to be held upside down.
However, when it is needed to change container format (“format changeover”), it is necessary to replace all clamps in the machine, which is time consuming and requires that room be provided to store the unused clamps.